Tooth.



M; E. MERKER.

TOOTH. APPLICATION FUJI-113101.23, 1911. 1 109 080 Patented Sept. 1,1914

[NVENTOR WITNESSES c I I THE 4,:VRR I S PETERS'CO-T FHOTOI-LI TI OU D-L.

MELVIN EDGAR MERKER, OF NEW YORK, Y.

TOOTH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

Application filed November 22, 1911. Serial No. 661,682.

T 0 all "whom it may concern Be it known that I, MELVIN E. MERKER, aresident of New York, in the county and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Teeth; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the1nvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to artificial teeth, the main object being toprovide an improved tooth of the character indicated, and improved meansfor securing the same in a users mouth.

The invention consists in the construction hereinafter described andparticularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates the invention and formspart of the specification,-Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a toothand securing means on a natural root; Fig. 2 shows a side and plan viewof the securing device; Fig. 3 is a View looking at the base of thetooth; Fig. 4 is a side view showing a modification of the securingdevice; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section showing another securing means;Fig. 6 shows a vertical section and a plan of a molar or a back toothwith the improvement embodied therein.

The incisor or front artificial tooth 1 comprises in its base aplurality of holes 2 formed therein in any suitable manner, preferablyby boring. These holes are situated in or near a common plane passingthrough the front and back of the tooth, as distinguished from a planepassing through the side edges of the tooth. Said holes are adapted anddesigned to receive securing pins 3 after the tooth is baked, the pinsbeing then cemented in the holes, whereby said pins, which may be ofplatinum or platinum filled or any suitable metal and are quite small,are not subjected to high heat.

The pins 3 are connected by an integral cr0ss piece 4 to which issecured the pin 5 designed to enter a prepared root, as shown. The pin 5is in all cases situated centrally in the root, but sometimes owing toparticular conditions it is advisable to set the tooth Iorward orbackward on the root. For this purpose I provide securing devices inwhich the pin 5 is secured at one side or the other of the center of thecross piece a, the pin 5 being set to the rear of the center of piece 4if the tooth is to be thrown forward, as in Fig. 1, and the pin 5 beingset forward of the center if the tooth is to be situated farther back,the latter construction of device being shown in Fig. 2. In many cases,however, the tooth will be centrally situated on the root, in which casethe pin 5 will be at the middle of the cross piece 4:, as shown in Fig.4. The base of the tooth is formed with a depression 40 to receive thecross piece 4:.

Owing to the shape of some artificial front teeth it is sometimesdesirable to make the rear holes 2 and pins 3 of less length than thefront holes and pins, this being shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. Theinvention is not limited to this feature, and in Fig. 5 holes 2 and pins3 front and rear are of equal length. In this construction also the pinsare connected together by an angular plate 7 which fits on thehorizontal shoulder of the tooth and upward along the back of theprojection 8 of the tooth which extends over the edge of the saddle 9and the natural. gum 10, and is secured by cement, rubber or the like,at 11.

The improvement may also be applied to molar or to back teeth 1 in Fig.6, 2 being holes for pins in a plane through the front and back of thetooth, and 11 a depression in the base of the artificial tooth toreceive a pin-connecting cross-bar, as above described. The cross barfitting into the depression leaves the base of the tooth flat andsmooth, and the wall of such depression incloses and hides the metal.

In use the main need for strong holding means for teeth is in adirection forward and backward, rather than sidewise, and myconstruction provides this. Small pins may be used owing to theirrelative position without weakening the holding of the tooth, ascompared with constructions in which the holes and pins are in a planepassing through the edges of the tooth.

Having thus described the invention what- I desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States is pins, there being a depression in thebase An artificial tooth having in its base end In testimony whereof, Ihave signed this a plurality of pin-receiving holes, pins forspecification in the presence of two subscribsaicl holes, a horizontalpart connecting said ing witnesses.

MELVIN EDGAR MERKER. of the tooth to receive said horizontal part,Witnesses: and a root-pin secured to said horizontal I KEOA G. ARLUOK,part between the pins. JOHN CURRIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C.

